Here's Why You Can't Play 'Red Dead Online' Just Yet

'Red Dead Redemption 2' is here, but online gameplay will have to wait.

Red Dead Redemption 2 is finally here, but what about its online multiplayer mode? Red Dead Online hasn’t launched just yet, but we already have a pretty good idea of when it will be available. Here’s what you need to know.

Back in September, Rockstar Games revealed plans for an “online connected experience set against the backdrop of Red Dead Redemption 2’s enormous open world.” The new game will take ideas from 2010’s Red Dead Redemption’s multiplayer mode, which let up to 16 people play together online while expanding that concept significantly. Rockstar also noted that you’d be able to play both with friends or “alone,” and promised regular updates as the experience evolves.

As for a release date, Red Dead Online will launch in November as a public beta, meaning you can expect the experience to be a little rough around the edges when it first comes out. Until then, all you have to do is wait and enjoy the main single-player game. Anyone who owns Red Dead Redemption 2 will get free access to the online experience once it’s released.

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Beyond the idea of a multiplayer experience set in the expansive Wild West world of Red Dead Redemption 2, we don’t really know much about Red Dead Online. However, it’s probably safe to make a few guesses based on what Rockstar’s done with GTA Online (which was similarly included for free with GTAV).

In that case, you can expect constant updates, new items, and plenty of in-app purchases, along with special events timed to the seasons (like a winter update with snow) and in-game events that move the story in new directions. GTA Online also offers various Heists, basically co-operative missions that you can only pull off by working as a team. So we can probably expect something similar from Red Dead Online, though, not necessarily at launch.